MECH 466

Microelectromechanical Systems
University of Victoria
Dept. of Mechanical Engineering

Lecture 10:
Piezoresistivity

© N. Dechev, University of Victoria 1

Piezoresistivity Overview

Examples of Piezoresistive Sensors

Resistance Change due to Geometric Change
Resistance Change due to Resistivity Change (Piezoresistive effect)
Metal Strain Guages
Doped Silicon Piezoresistors
Stress Distribution in Beams

© N. Dechev, University of Victoria 2

 Piezoresistive Sensors

Operate on a sensor principle whereby an electrical resistor will

change its resistance when it is subjected to a strain (deformation).
Piezoresistive sensors are used as part of many MEMS devices,
including:
-Pressure sensors
-Accelerometers
-Tactile sensors
-Flow Sensors
In other words, these “Piezoresistive-based” applications are
sensitive to phenomena that cause beams or thin plates to deform,
and this deformation can be measured by resistance change.

© N. Dechev, University of Victoria 3

Pressure Sensors

MEMS pressure sensor consist of a ‘thin plate’ of silicon with a

pressure differential across the plate. The resulting deformation
causes strain along the edges of the plate.
With careful design, regions along the edge of the plate can be
‘doped’ to create resistors, which will subsquently exhibit
resistance change in proportion to the applied strain.
strain
sensors

thin diaphragm
thin
diaphragm

thin diaphragm

Diagram of Piezoresistive-based Pressure Sensor [Chang Liu]

© N. Dechev, University of Victoria 4

 Pressure Sensors

The deformation of the ‘thin plate’ on the pressure sensor, can be

visualized in the following image:

Total deformation of thin plate. Red = high deformation. Dark Blue = none.

© N. Dechev, University of Victoria 5

Pressure Sensors

The state of strain of the same ‘thin plate’ is shown here.

Note the locations of the maximum strain along the edges.

Total Strain of a thin plate. Red = high strain. Dark Blue = no Strain.

© N. Dechev, University of Victoria 6

 Example: Piezoresistive Accelerometer

This consists of a relatively large moving mass, connected to a

flexible beam that will deform (strain) as a result of acceleration
of the mass:

proof mass piezoresistor

acce
lera
tion
Case Study: 6.2:
Diagram of Piezoresistive-based
Accelerometer [Chang Liu]

Review Case Study 6.2 in textbook for fabrication details.

© N. Dechev, University of Victoria 7

Piezoresistive Sensors

Recall the relationship: L

-Which defines the electrical resistance of any conductor.

There are two modes of resistance change when we deform/strain
a device:
(1) Mode 1: Physical change in dimensions.
(2) Mode 2: Resistivity ! is a function of strain !.

© N. Dechev, University of Victoria 8

 Mode 1: Resistance Change

Mode 1: Physical change in dimensions

Recall Poisson’s ratio, which states that as we elongate a
‘member’, is dimensions change in all three axes, x, y and z.
L

F F

x
deformed
!L undeformed
-y

This relationship is defined as:

© N. Dechev, University of Victoria 9

Metal Strain Guages

Undergo resistance change due to strain, primarily due to

dimensional change, (i.e. shape deformation), (Mode 1).
Design Principle:

not very sensitive

good, sensitive design

© N. Dechev, University of Victoria 10

 Mode 2: Resistivity, !, is a Function of Strain

Mode 2: Resistivity is a function of strain:

Resistivity,
"

Strain, !

Note that this function is non-linear.

For semiconductor piezoresistors, mode ② >> mode ①.

Also, for the purposes of this course, we will assume a linear

relationship between resistivity and strain, i.e.:

Resistivity,
"

© N. Dechev, University of Victoria Strain, ! 11

Piezoresistor Resistance

Peizoresistor resistance is defined as:

This equation can be derived as follows:

Due to Poisson’s effect, when a solid body is deformed, it will
experience strain in all three axes.
z
!

Longitudinal

-y Transverse

Recall:

© N. Dechev, University of Victoria 12

 Piezoresistor Resistance

Therefore, we can state that the resistance change is:

Where:
First term is the increased length
Second term is the decreased area
Third term is the change in resistivity

Note, for Mode 1 materials (i.e. metals), the third term is negligible)
Due to Poisson’s effect:
Hence:

Note that change in resistivity caused by stress is expressed as:

Where:
pi = is called the piezoresistive coefficient of the material
[sigma] = stress tensor

© N. Dechev, University of Victoria 13

Piezoresistor Resistance

Hence:

Note: valid for 1-D resistance change

We now define: G as the relative change of resistance per unit strain,

and refer to it as the “gauge factor”

Hence we can write: Note: valid for 1-D resistance change

For 2-D, the total resistance change is the summation of changes due
to longitudinal and transverse strain components.

© N. Dechev, University of Victoria 14

 Piezoresistor Resistance

Definition of longitudinal piezoresistor:

F
Note: resistor orientation w.r.t. applied load

Definition of transverse piezoresistor:

F
F
or
F
F
Note: resistor orientation w.r.t. applied load

© N. Dechev, University of Victoria 15

Single Crystal Doped Silicon Piezoresistors

Undergo resistance change due to strain, primarily due to change

in the physical resistivity, !, of the material, (Mode 2).
The value of is highly dependent on the doping concentration of
the doped silicon.

© N. Dechev, University of Victoria 16

 Single Crystal Doped Silicon Piezoresistors

For a 3-D solid mass, more general relationships exist.

The resistivity !ij can be expressed as:

Note: the reference for this material is available from the book:
[M-H Bao, 2000, Micro mechanical transducers Handbook of Sensors and Actuators vol 8, Editor: S
Middelhoek (Amsterdam: Elsevier) chapter 5]

© N. Dechev, University of Victoria 17

Single Crystal Doped Silicon Piezoresistors

The general relationship between ‘resistivity’ and ‘stress’ is:

© N. Dechev, University of Victoria 18

 Single Crystal Doped Silicon Piezoresistors

For the case of single crystal silicon, where the x, y and z axes line
up with the <100> family of directions, we have the relation:

where values for " can be found in Table 6.1 of the textbook.
Note: for other directions, such as <110>, or <111>,
transformation matrices are required as described in the work:
[M-H Bao, 2000, Micro mechanical transducers Handbook of Sensors and Actuators vol 8, Editor: S
Middelhoek (Amsterdam: Elsevier) chapter 5]

© N. Dechev, University of Victoria 19

Example: Longitudinal Piezoresistor

A longitudinal resistor has been fabricated in silicon crystal by

doping, and lies in the <111> direction. The piezoresistor is n-type,
with a doping concentration of 11.7 "cm.

Question: Find the longitudinal guage factor of the resistor, using

Table 6.1 and Table 6.2 in the course textbook.

See Class Notes for Solution

© N. Dechev, University of Victoria 20

 Review of Beam Stress

Recall the distribution of stress within a beam, under a condition

of ‘pure bending’:
F

F
M=Fx

F
x

© N. Dechev, University of Victoria 21

Review of Beam Stress

The stress within the beam increases linearly, as we move from

the beam ‘neutral axis’ to the top and bottom faces.
F

Also, the stress within the beam is proportional to the moment M,

at that position on the beam.
F

© N. Dechev, University of Victoria 22

 Design of Piezoresistive Sensors with Micro-Beams

Any well designed sensor should not ‘interfere with’ or ‘alter’, the
system it is measuring.
The sensor should be located in such a way as to maximize its
sensitivity to the phenomena to be measured.
And, it should minimize the measurement noise.

© N. Dechev, University of Victoria 23

Design of Piezoresistive Sensors with Micro-Beams

To create a strain sensor on a micro-beam, we can dope the beam

in an ‘appropriate location’ to create a piezoresistor.
Consider the following scenarios for various doping locations on a
beam:
Doped Region (Piezoresistor)

(A) Good Designs:

- Sensor element is minimally
disruptive to the structure.
Deposited Material (Piezoresistor)
-Sensor is placed at best location
to maximise the sensitivity to
(B) strain.

© N. Dechev, University of Victoria 24

 Design of Piezoresistive Sensors with Micro-Beams

The following designs can be considered as Poor Designs:

Very Thick
Deposited Material
- Sensor Design (in this case size)
changes the physical properties of
(C)
the beam

Very Deep Doping

-Sensor Location (in this case
(D) sensitive region is located on both
sides of the neutral axis) makes for
poor sensitivity, since the tensile
and compressive strain-resistances
cancel each other out.

© N. Dechev, University of Victoria 25